Russian pensioners are being targeted by phone scammers who…
Russian pensioners are being targeted by phone scammers who impersonate Pension Fund officials, threatening to reduce their pensions due to alleged document errors. The fraudsters trick victims into providing SMS verification codes and then pressure them to transfer savings to a 'safe account,' resulting in significant financial losses.
Consensus
- Phone scammers are impersonating employees of the Pension Fund to threaten Russian pensioners with reduced pensions.
- The fraudsters claim there is an error in the victim's documents that will lead to a reduction in pension payments.
- Scammers ask victims to provide SMS verification codes under the pretense of scheduling an appointment.
- After obtaining the code, scammers inform victims their 'Gosuslugi' account has been hacked and urge them to transfer savings to a 'safe' account.
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) warns that officials from banks, government agencies, or security services never request money transfers.
- In Moscow, two suspects were arrested in connection with such a scam involving a pensioner who lost nearly 9 million rubles.
Points of divergence
- The MVD reported that the victims were pressured to 'declare' their savings and that couriers collected approximately nine million rubles from the elderly woman. — vm
- Scammers now use AI, employ fake documents from the Central Bank and FSB, and have introduced QR code-based money transfers as part of their schemes. — m24
Coverage (3 sources)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs: Scammers Deceive Pensioners by Threatening a Reduction in Pensions — Вечерняя Москва
- Scammers are scaring Russian pensioners with a threat of reduced pensions — ТАСС (Telegram)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs Reveals Pension Reduction Threat Fraud Scheme — Москва 24